Once again, a stunning lack of variety
I made a post the other day about the repetition of tunes in the final round MSR at the World Pipe Band Championship, and I sat down this morning and compiled a tune list from the qualifying event in the morning. There were 18 bands in the qualifying round, and here’s the breakdown.
March
- The most popular march, by far, was The Clan MacRae Society, which was played by 6 bands, a third of the bands in the event.
- Donald Cameron was in 2nd place, played by 3 bands, and Highland Wedding and Lord Alexander Kennedy were each played by 2 bands.
- Only three bands played 4 part marches: Aukland & District played Brig. General Ronald Cheape, Tayside Police played Mrs. John MacColl, and Triumph Street played The Argyllshire Gathering.
Strathspey
- There was another blowout here, with Susan MacLeod being played by 7 bands.
- Dora MacLeod, Tulloch Castle, Blair Drummond, and Maggie Cameron were each played by 2 bands, the other only strathspeys to be repeated.
- Blair Drummond and Atholl Cummers were the only tunes played of 6 parts; everything else was 4 parts.
Reel
- John Morrison of Assynt House was the clear winner, played by 6 bands.
- Mrs MacPherson of Inveran was played by 3 bands, and John MacKechnie’s Reel, The Smith of Chilliechasse, and MacAllister’s Dirk were each played by 2 bands.
- Every reel was at least 6 parts long.
So by far the most popular tunes in each category were The Clan MacRae Society, Susan MacLeod, and John Morrison of Assynt House, and those tunes were played as a set by two bands: Canterbury Caledonian Society from New Zealand, and LA Scots from Los Angeles.
I’ll admit it is kind of fun to be able to listen to the recordings and name the tunes, but as I’ve said before (several times), I’d really like to see some more variety here.
I was reading on another blog that they should just remove the MSR competition altogether (see Dump The Qualifier)Would you agre with this statement? Should the MSR Qualifier be dropped, not only because bands that have a less than desirable MSR but have an amazing Medley be disqualified, but also because of the lack of variety each set seams to have from another?
Personally I like the MSR contest; it is a test of traditional playing, while the medley offers an opportunity for bands to be more innovative.
August 28, 2010 at 11:26 am
I read that article too, and I think you’ve misread it. He’s proposing to scrap the qualifying round, which does consist of an MSR, but not the MSR contest as a whole.
In the Worlds’ current format, those who haven’t already qualified based on their winnings earlier in the season play an MSR contest early in the day. The top few of that contest( depending on how many have already qualified) move on to the final, where they will have to play another MSR and their medley.
I’m not wild about the qualifying round, but I haven’t heard a really great alternative to it yet, so I don’t have any suggestions. I absolutely don’t think the MSR contest should be dropped altogether, but I think there’s a lot of room for some different tunes.
August 28, 2010 at 1:08 pm